Romans 4 10

Romans 4:10 kjv

How was it then reckoned? when he was in circumcision, or in uncircumcision? Not in circumcision, but in uncircumcision.

Romans 4:10 nkjv

How then was it accounted? While he was circumcised, or uncircumcised? Not while circumcised, but while uncircumcised.

Romans 4:10 niv

Under what circumstances was it credited? Was it after he was circumcised, or before? It was not after, but before!

Romans 4:10 esv

How then was it counted to him? Was it before or after he had been circumcised? It was not after, but before he was circumcised.

Romans 4:10 nlt

But how did this happen? Was he counted as righteous only after he was circumcised, or was it before he was circumcised? Clearly, God accepted Abraham before he was circumcised!

Romans 4 verses

Romans 4 10 Meaning

Romans 4:10 directly addresses the critical question of when Abraham's faith was "credited" or "reckoned" as righteousness. It asserts that his faith was accounted as righteousness before he was circumcised, emphatically stating "Not while circumcised, but while uncircumcised." This establishes that righteousness comes by faith alone, independent of ritualistic works or ethnic markers, making Abraham a father to both Jewish and Gentile believers who share his faith.

Romans 4 10 Context

Romans 4 focuses on proving that justification before God is by faith, not by works of the Law. Paul presents Abraham as the primary biblical example, drawing directly from Gen 15:6 where Abraham "believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness." Chapters 1-3 of Romans established humanity's universal sinfulness and the necessity of God's righteousness being revealed apart from the Law (the Law was unable to justify, it merely highlighted sin).

Verse 10 arises from the question posed in verse 9: "Is this blessedness only for the circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised?" Paul is dismantling the deeply entrenched Jewish belief that circumcision was a prerequisite for being righteous in God's eyes and for covenant participation. By showing that Abraham's justification happened before circumcision (which took place in Gen 17, 14 years after Gen 15), Paul powerfully refutes any notion that circumcision (or any works of the Mosaic Law) is the basis for righteousness. This timing is crucial for his argument that the Abrahamic covenant of faith precedes and supersedes the Mosaic covenant of Law.

Historically, this verse addresses Judaizers within the early church who insisted that Gentile converts must be circumcised and adhere to the Law of Moses to be saved. Paul's argument demonstrates that even Abraham, the patriarch of Israel, was declared righteous purely by faith, setting a precedent for both Jews and Gentiles.

Romans 4 10 Word analysis

• How then (Πῶς οὖν, Pōs oun): This Greek phrase signals a logical progression and often an interrogative transition. Paul is building on the previous statement in Rom 4:9, "We have been saying that Abraham’s faith was credited to him as righteousness," and now asks how or under what circumstances that imputation occurred. It sets up the pivotal clarification that follows.
• was it credited (ἐλογίσθη, elogisthē): This is the aorist passive form of the verb logizomai. It means "to calculate," "to reckon," "to count," "to put to one's account," or "to impute." It's a key term in Romans 4, emphasizing God's divine act of imputing righteousness. It implies an accounting term where something is officially registered or entered into one's record, here signifying a gracious act of God's attributing righteousness to Abraham despite any inherent lack. It is a legal-forensic declaration.
• While he was circumcised (ἐν περιτομῇ, en peritomē): "In circumcision." This refers to the state of being circumcised, implying the time after Abraham received the sign in Gen 17. For Paul's Jewish audience, this was the central identifier of God's covenant people. To be "in circumcision" was to be a full participant in the Mosaic covenant (even though circumcision predated Moses, it became integrated into the Mosaic Law's requirements).
• or uncircumcised (ἢ ἐν ἀκροβυστίᾳ, ē en akrobustia): "Or in uncircumcision." This refers to the state of being uncircumcised, implying the time before Abraham received the sign. It is a direct reference to the Gentile state, the condition of being outside the physical covenant marker of Israel.
• Not while circumcised (οὐκ ἐν περιτομῇ, ouk en peritomē): A decisive negation. Paul firmly rejects the idea that Abraham's righteousness came through circumcision. This negates the Judaizing claim that the covenant mark (and by extension, adherence to the Mosaic Law) was the basis of God's declaration of righteousness.
• but while uncircumcised (ἀλλ’ ἐν ἀκροβυστίᾳ, all' en akrobustia): A definitive affirmation. This is the crucial point: Abraham's righteousness was imputed to him during the period before he received circumcision. This proves that circumcision was a sign and seal of an already existing righteousness, not the means by which it was obtained (Rom 4:11). This fact shatters the exclusivity that some in the Jewish community or the early church sought to place on the Mosaic Law and rituals as requirements for salvation, opening the way for Gentile inclusion on equal terms.

Romans 4 10 Bonus section

The chronological sequence highlighted in Rom 4:10-11 (Genesis 15 before Genesis 17) is crucial for Paul. It undercuts any theological system that insists on external works or ethnic lineage as a condition for receiving God's saving righteousness. The implications extend beyond just circumcision to any "works of the Law," showing that these are not the foundation of one's standing with God. Instead, they are, at best, a response to an already received grace. Paul consistently uses Abraham as a theological template for salvation because Abraham's experience fundamentally proves that God's plan for humanity's reconciliation has always been anchored in faith.

Romans 4 10 Commentary

Romans 4:10 is a pivotal verse in Paul's systematic theological argument for justification by faith. Having stated in Romans 4:3 that Abraham's faith was credited to him as righteousness (quoting Gen 15:6), Paul then confronts the most pressing question for his Jewish audience: When exactly did this happen? The answer "Not while circumcised, but while uncircumcised" is a brilliant and conclusive stroke. By highlighting the chronological order of events in Abraham's life—faith in Genesis 15 followed by circumcision in Genesis 17—Paul definitively proves that righteousness is a matter of divine imputation based on faith, rather than human performance of ritual.

This timing underscores that circumcision served as a sign and seal of righteousness already possessed through faith (as Rom 4:11 clarifies), not the means to obtain it. If Abraham, the very patriarch and progenitor of the circumcised people of Israel, was declared righteous before circumcision, then no one, Jew or Gentile, can claim that righteousness is earned through this physical act or any other Law-based ritual. This firmly establishes that the basis of humanity's standing before God is universal: belief, just as it was for Abraham. This theological truth serves to unify believers from both Jewish and Gentile backgrounds into one new body, the Church, by tearing down any barriers built upon works-righteousness.